Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Scallops with Butternut Squash, Asparagus, Pancetta, Truffle

First meal in my new house on Wadsworth St, the new kitchen is quite amazing. I went to Whole Foods and bought groceries and ended up with this dish! Seared scallops wrapped in pancetta, butternut squash puree with ricotta and pecorino cheese, asparagus and snap pea puree with white truffle oil, garnished with pursalene and micro arugula.




I have had a lot of great scallops this summer, especially notable were the ones I got down in Montauk, NY earlier in the summer when I was on vacation with my family, camping on the beach (its incredibly fun). Montauk is a fishing port and has an amazing selection of fresh seafood. I also had amazing scallops with I was on Cape Cod a few weeks ago.
The ones pictured above were purchased at Whole Foods (at a rather steep price of $24.99/Lb...) but they were absolutely delicious.
I got the inspiration for pancetta from a dish we did when I was working at the EMC Club in Fenway park (the upscale restaurant in Fenway). We did pancetta wrapped cod, and it was delicious. It went very well with the scallops as well.
I saw the butternut squashes in the produce section, and since it's september now I decided it was time to make the transition to fall vegetables. I gently boiled small diced cubes of the squash for about 20 minutes (or until tender) and then strained and pureed it. I added 1C of whole milk ricotta cheese, along with 1/4C grated pecorino cheese. (Salt and pepper to taste)
The asparagus, snap pea, and truffle oil puree came together very well and was absolutely delicious. First, I cut about 4 inches of the stems off the asparagus, to avoid stringy bits in the sauce at the end (if you are not straining it). Then I simmered the trimmed asparagus and snap peas for about 3-4 minutes and then shocked them in ice water. I then pureed the vegetables in the blender and added 1T (tablespoon) of white truffle oil, and salt and pepper. I also added a bit of ricotta for a better consistency and to make sure the sauce held together.
The plate here was something I randomly stumbled upon in a Khols (of all places....) while buying an electric razor. But the plate is awesome, and I wish I had bought 10 of them.
To make the asparagus puree into the dots, I used a small squeeze bottle, that I got at a kitchen store for $0.99

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